Broadening of the anti-cancer portfolio

Novartis announced new investments in cancer immunotherapies through the acquisition of Admune Therapeutics and the closure of licensing agreements with Palobiofarma and XOMA Corporation.

The acquisition of Admune adds an IL-15 agonist program currently in phase I clinical trials for metastatic cancer. The licensing agreement with Palobiofarma gives Novartis development and commercialization rights to PBF-509, an adenosine receptor antagonist currently in phase I clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer. The agreement with XOMA gives Novartis development and commercialization rights to TGF-beta antibody programs.  All three programs will be explored as monotherapies and in combination with therapies in Novartis’ immuno-oncology and targeted therapy portfolios.